Waterbury Municipal Center Complex
Encyclopedia
The Waterbury Municipal Center Complex, also known as the Cass Gilbert National Register District, is a group of five buildings, including City Hall, on Field and Grand streets in Waterbury
, Connecticut, United States. They are large stone and brick structures, all designed by Cass Gilbert
in the Georgian Revival and Second Renaissance Revival
architectural style
s, built during the 1910s. In 1978 they were designated as a historic district
and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. They are now contributing properties
to the Downtown Waterbury Historic District
.
The complex was financed by the Chase family, owners of the Chase Brass Company, one of Waterbury's major industries at the time. In the wake of a 1902 fire that had destroyed a portion of downtown, the Chases and other local businessmen saw an opportunity for urban renewal
. Cass Gilbert
won the competition to design a new complex a few blocks from the old city hall building (since demolished) on West Main Street. Unusual for the time, the complex would house not just the mayor and city council but the public safety
functions of city government such the police and fire departments, courts and jails. In keeping with the contemporary City Beautiful movement
, the complex included other large-scaled buildings in its "court of honor", such as Chase's headquarters
, a building named Lincoln House for the city's charitable organizations and a dispensary
.
Similar architectural characteristics and motifs unite the buildings thematically. They have flat roofs, rusticated
ground levels, and pilaster
s dividing bays
in the middle stories. The two largest, City Hall and the Chase Building, have an opposite configuration. Many of the same decorative
patterns are used on all the buildings. One in particular is the use of quotations from Abraham Lincoln
. This is interesting since Lincoln never visited Waterbury nor had any particular connection with the city. It is possible that they reflect a renewed interest in Lincoln in the wake of the centenary of his birth or the 50th anniversary of his death, both recent occurrences at the time of the complex's construction.
The headquarters building and Lincoln House have since been converted
to other uses, mainly private office space and additional city offices. City government continues to occupy City Hall. By the end of the 20th century the decline of the city's industries had led to the deterioration of the building, and it was condemned by the city's building department. A bond issue was later passed to raise money for its restoration.
viaduct. City Hall and the Chase Building are on opposite sides of Grand between Church, Field and Leavenworth streets; the other four are on the east side of Field. Immediately adjacent are some other public buildings: a National Guard
facility to the south; the city's post office and a federal court building on the east along the south side of Grand (across from a row of commercial buildings), a state courthouse and the Silas Bronson library and its park to the west.
. A garage has been added to the fire station since construction.
The main block is a three-story, 17-by-3-bay
(203 feet (61.9 m) long by 46 feet (14 m) high) Georgian Revival structure, faced in marble
on its first story and brick with marble trim on the upper two. Atop its flat roof is a small penthouse, from which a four-stage tower rises. It is set back
80 feet (24.4 m) from the street to allow for a fountain plaza Gilbert referred to as the entourage.
The entourage is a rectangular area, reached by steps from the street, with a paved oval at the center. In the middle of the oval is a round marble fountain within a round catch basin. Six carved light standards, each with two lamps, flank the steps leading from the street. On either side of the entourage are large flagpoles on bronze bases inside grass parterre
s bordered by small hedges. At the rear of the parterres are marble urns with fountains flanking the balustraded entrance steps.
, the first-story marble is rusticated
. Trabeated six-over-six double-hung sash window
s are slightly recessed in arched surrounds. The corners are slightly recessed; the middle 11 bays project slightly to form a small pavilion.
Atop the first story of that pavilion is a blind paneled balustrade. Large fluted
composite
pilaster
s divide each bay, set with recessed nine-over-nine double-hung sash and projecting cornice
caps in the pavilion and full round-arched windows on the ends. At the end of the pavilion are narrow sash windows with bronze grilles. The center bays of the end sets, and the pavilion bays, have bronze geometric balconies with center medallions.
A thin terra cotta
belt course
with gouge
work and geometric shapes sets off the third story. The pavilion has trabeated six-over-six sash flanked by blind bays at its end, and the end bays have circular bas-reliefs
, depicting, from east to west, "Industry" as a workman amid gears and cogs, the city seal, "Commerce", as a figure of Mercury with a caduceus
, "Force" as a Roman gladiator
, and Justice
. In the pilaster capitals
are two designs, one of which features a prominent eagle.
The marble frieze
below the roofline has a regular pattern of decorated discs with swags
at the pavilion ends. Above it is a modillioned cornice with carved leaves and bead-and-reel
moldings
. They in turn support a broad balustrade. At the pavilion ends and above the three center bays are panels with vertical gougework in a wave pattern. The center is further decorated with the inscription Quid Aere Perennius, Latin for "more lasting than brass."
On the east and west sides are a central entrance with steps on either side. Above it is an arched tablet with an inscription: "Impartiality is the life of Justice as Justice is of all government. Justice is the constant desire and effort to render to every man his due" by the Roman emperor Justinian I
on the west, and "Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith let us to the end dare to do our duty as we understand it" attributed to Abraham Lincoln
on the east. The third story has a panel (further inscribed with "Reason is the Life of Law" on the west) between two circular bas-reliefs in carved leaf surrounds. On the east side they depict "Truth" as a woman contemplating a skull and "Prudence" as a woman gazing into a mirror; on the west are "Wisdom" as an aged man holding a lamp and "Order" as a female with a mace.
The tower's lowest stage has corner pilasters and louver
ed flat-topped openings in all four sides. Above it is a blind balustrade with corner posts and swags. Pilasters frame arched openings. Another blind balustrade, its corners topped with urns, has clocks in all four faces. The final stage is a bell-cast gilded
roof with bronze weathervane.
On the east side, the fire station wing is a nine-by-eleven-bay two-story structure. Like the main block it is stone on the first and brick up top. Five of the six arched bays on the east side are used for fire engine garages, their double doors topped with radiating-sash fanlight
s. The seventh bay is a regular door, leading to offices. The two stories are separated by another blind balustrade. Above the arched second story windows, set with six-over-six trabeated sash, is a plain cornice and marble-topped parapet
.
The police wing, on the east, is mostly identical. A rear wing houses the jail. It has eleven bays at street level, and the main entrance is in the center of the west facade. Its rear bays have trabeated openings with bronze grilles.
Inside the wall between the two wings is a courtyard. It has gardens and benches. Several of those latter are original Gilbert designs.
bindings.
Behind it, there is a small vestibule
. Bronze commemorative plaque
s on the sides honor local World War I
veterans. A rear entry with sidelights topped by teardrops and an elliptical arch with fanlight, all of leaded glass
, opens into the east-west central hallway.
The hallway is sided in Vermont marble with carved panels featuring a fleur de lis pattern at the base, supported on eagle brackets and divided by pilaster
s with oak and acorn capitals. To the west of the vestibule is a panel with gilded letters both serving as a building directory and dedication plaque. Entrances are set in arcaded
surrounds with medallions; the stairway and vestibule arches have eagle keystone
s. Atop the wall is a frieze
with a center lamp between griffin
s holding ribbons and garlands
. The coffer
ed ceiling is painted with triangles and rosettes. Round hanging bronze glazed lanterns with clustered bulbs provide light.
The front lobby is also lit from the rear by a six-over-six double-hung sash set with leaded and stained glass
, opaque on the bottom but with a cartouche
and swag on top. The stair climbs to a Palladian window, also with stained glass. It is decorated with swags and ribbons, corner cartouches and panels topped with eagles in the center and vases and foliation topped with a lit torch on the outer panels. A cartouche-enclosed oval at the top has the date "1915" carved within.
At the landing next to this window the stairs divide. They are girded by an iron balustrade with bronze railing. The stairwell is further balustraded with a stylized compass in the center and a wave beneath the rail.
In the second floor hallway, decoration is more restrained. It has marble floors, wainscoting, door and window surrounds and pilasters but the walls themselves are plaster. The pilasters are topped with Roman Doric capitals that support a decorated frieze and dentilled cornice. In the metopes
are painted vases and medallions. The ceilings are plain.
The original mayor's office is directly opposite the top of the stairs. It has freestanding fluted
Roman Doric columns in the entrance. Fluted wall pilasters and marble wainscoting supporting a full entablature
and arched ceiling.
On either end of the hallway are city council chambers. The eastern one was originally built for that purpose; the western one was a courtroom. In the former, the aldermens' desks are within a semicircular balustrade outlined with paralleling benches for the public. The Roman Doric continues to be used. Fluted pilasters in that mode support a full entablature and modillioned cornice. On the ceiling are octagonal panels with rosettes at the center. From it hangs a bronze chandelier with two levels of electric candles. The wall sconce
s, corner lights and door clock are original. A 1934 map of Waterbury has been substituted for an original decoration behind the mayor's chair.
Due to the change in use, there is less original detail in the west chamber. The balustrade, wall clock and light fixtures are among those aspects that do. The ceiling, also original, has the same center rosettes as its eastern counterpart but with square panels on the outer portions.
The three-story building is faced entirely in Indiana limestone
. The first story is, like City Hall's marble, rusticated
, with the bays on the inside of the wings and the center pavilion made a series of segmented arches to give them an arcade
appearance. On the east and west elevations only the interior bays are in arches. Within them are large six-over-six double-hung trabeated sash window
s. Above them a cornice forms the base for fluted
pilaster
s with Tower of the Winds
capitals
that divide the windows on the upper two stories.
The second story windows are also sash, set in rectangular openings with sills and cornice caps on consoles topped with rosettes or oval patera. The middle bays of the wings are six-over-six in a slightly recessed arch with pediment
ed lintel on consoles. They have a small balcony with iron guardrails. A stringcourse around the building sets off the third story and forms its window sills. The central section has six-over-six with a plain surround. On both second and third stories of the wings' south face they are flanked by narrower four-over-four sash.
The frieze
below the roof cornice has rosettes or patera atop each pilaster. In the middle of the wings, and above the central pavilion, is a solid panel. That above the pavilion has "CHASE" carved in it. The north (rear) facade is less ornate but also well-delineated. A balustrade runs along the flat roof; there is a penthouse in the center.
Four fluted Tower of the Winds columns rise from the balcony level of the central pavilion. The windows they divide are identical to those in the middle bays of the wing end second stories, with the third stories likewise fenestrated with shorter six-over-six. Two bronze lanterns flank the main entrance, with grille-covered four-over-four sash in the outside bays.
The simple bronze door leads, as in City Hall, into a vestibule
. Opposite it, across the central hallway, is the main staircase. At its landing is a multilevel stained glass window, with urns, foliate and architectural motifs flanking a central panel with another quotation from Lincoln: "Go forward without fear and with manly heart." Near the top is "A.D. 1919". Across from the top of the stair is the building's dedication plaque. An iron balustrade with bronze railings runs along the stairs, marble like all the building's flooring. The ceilings are enamel
ed, and the door and window surrounds dark wood.
of Southwestern New England, is located on the southeast corner of Field and Grand. It is a four-story five-by-seven-bay
structure faced, like the Chase Building on the far corner, in limestone. All four facade
s are finished; a cast iron
fence sets off the north and west facades from the sidewalks.
Both of those facades have an identical treatment, echoing the Chase Building and City Hall. Like them, the first story is finished in rusticated
segmented arches. They are set with six-section rounded-arch windows, again creating an arcade
effect. The windows' sections are a full window with flanking sidelights and three matching sections in the fan. Beneath them are wooden panels decorated with the same wave pattern used in City Hall's parapet
panels.
The corners are emphasized with slight recess and pilaster
s. As with the other two buildings, pilaster
s, here with Corinthian
capitals, spring from a stringcourse
above the first story to divide the bays of the second and third stories, forming a balustrade. Six-over-six trabeated double-hung sash on the second floor are topped with cap cornices. Above them the third level windows are plainer and shorter trabeated six-over-six.
Above the third story is a full entablature
with gouge work and medallions topped by a broad dentilled and modllioned cornice
. The fourth-story windows are the same as the ones below. Above them is a slightly less broad dentilled cornice supporting a small parapet
.
The entrance is a simple bronze door. It opens into the former bank lobby. Bronze cashiers railings with grilles atop marble counters lead to where the tellers' cages once stood. There are front and rear mezzanines
. From the marble floor square columns with neck moldings
rise to the coffer
ed marble ceiling.
Iron stairs with bronze railings lead to the upper floors. Some of them have their original terrazzo
floors. There are also original dark wood surrounds on some office doors, with a few having their original panels below and glazed panels of opaque glass in their upper sections and even transoms. At the first floor stair entry are the original bronze directory panel and mail chute
.
s and a flat roof.
It is likely the only remaining structure in the neighborhood that predates the construction of the buildings, built around 1900. Originally it was used as a power station. Gilbert, who hoped to make it part of a theater that would have been the complex's sixth building, called it the "Power House" on those plans. It was later renovated and annexed to the bank building.
has a slightly exposed basement with reveted four-pane sash window
s. Above a marble water table
, all windows are trabeated, with marble surrounds. A stringcourse
of header bricks laid vertically creates a springline for the round arches with keystones that enclose the second floor windows. Both they and the first-story windows are six-over-six double-hung sash; the third story has three-over-three. Above them is a narrow dentilled cornice
and parapet capped with salt-glazed tile, the latter of which runs around the entire building.
All the other three facades are similarly treated. On the east (rear) the entrance is at ground level, and the windows are correspondingly dropped to provide better lighting at that level. The south side has a centrally located basement entry, matched by a smaller sash in the center of the north facade.
Marble steps lead up to the main entrance, in the middle of the west elevation. Its ornate surround has engaged columns on marble bases topped by a plain frieze
and open pediment
. Inside that pediment is the entrance fanlight
, with a molded
surround of its own topped by a keystone. The door itself has deep panels, six horizontal ones atop two vertical.
. Originally on the walls were marble plaques with more Lincoln quotes, including "With malice toward none, and with charity towards all ..." from his second inaugural address
. At the end of the vestibule is a door with elliptical fanlight, leaded
sidelights and Adamesque
detailing.
Off to the right is an office and waiting room. It has another tribute to Lincoln, a shield-shaped marble plaque with the entire Gettysburg Address
on it above a facsimile of Lincoln's signature. At the top is a bas-relief
of Lincoln below an eagle in flight.
Behind the vestibule door is a central hallway. Wainscoting along the hall continues to the main staircase in the rear. On the left is the dining room, with the greatest amount of detail of any room in the building. It has a flat baseboard
with similar chair rail and picture molding. The brick of the chimney breast projects into the room space, echoing the brick of the hearth
below. Above it is a Federal style mantel
where flat pilaster
rise to a plain frieze topped by a molded shelf. The kitchen, in the rear, retains much of its original cabinetry.
At the rear of the hall the main staircase continues the wainscoting. Made of wood with round oak newel
on a square base with neck molding and circular cap, it has a somewhat Victorian feel
. It ends in a square room upstairs. Another stair, rising from the rear entrance, was designed to be used by those served by the charities housed in the building, and thus climbs to the third floor in short, gentle flights. It has exposed brick walls.
The main stairs end in a small, plain square room on the second floor. It leads into a wider version of the central hall, meant to serve as a waiting room. Off it are some bedrooms and examining rooms. The third story is all bedrooms, and the basement is equipped with showers and fumigating rooms.
is located immediately to the south of Lincoln House on Field Street. It was the last building of the complex constructed, after the space in Lincoln House allotted to the dispensary proved inadequate. Like Lincoln House, it is of brick in Flemish bond, five bays
square, with marble accents and a flat roof. Exposed basement windows below the water table
are, like its neighbor, four-pane sash
, with those on the upper stories trabeated six-over-six double-hung sash, in round arches on the second story.
Unlike Lincoln House, the dispensary is only two stories in height. Atop the building is a narrow frieze created by vertically laid bricks and a marble cornice with Wall of Troy molded marble dentilling. The roofline has a marble balustrade instead of a parapet.
The side elevations are mostly similar in treatment. The north facade has four-over-four frosted glass
in the second and fourth bays at both levels and the south has a large, two-level arched window in the center bay with two six-over-six windows. In the rear the balustrade has five solid marble panels. The chimney, brick capped with marble, rises from the roof just south of the northeast corner.
At the centrally located main entrance, the marble steps fan out, flanked by a cast iron
railing. It supports cast iron and frosted glass lamps on bronze standards. The doorway is recessed in a brick arch with marble keystone, carved with an oval chrysanthemum
patera
, and impost
blocks paneled on the outer facings and autographed on the inner ones. Above the entry a marble panel reads "Henry Sabin Chase Memorial Dispensary".
The front and rear doors open into identical vestibule
s, with screened doors at the exterior and interior doors repeating the outside doors' fanlights, sidelights and surrounds. The door designs, six horizontal panels above two vertical ones, are similar to that on the neighboring Lincoln House. From the vestibules there is access to a large central room with coved ceiling. A main desk area is on the north with a dumbwaiter
connecting it to a similar area on the second floor. The stair opening is to the south; examining rooms and offices are on the east and west.
The stair, flanked by an oak railing with square baluster
s, leads to the basement and the second floor. Upstairs, the layout is identical to the first floor except for offices in the vestibule spaces. Many sinks remain in the examining room along with cabinets and shelving. The original light fixtures, molded milk glass globes hanging from brass chains, also remain although some were damaged by plaster falling from the ceiling.
for Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn
at 20 St. James Square
in London. "I have been studying a number of English examples of the Georgian period", he wrote to a friend, "and find so many in which the material was all brick or stone that I am justified in quoting this one as typical." He had wanted the facing to be entirely marble as well, but the city insisted on brick and stone, an alternation which Gilbert had felt would be disharmonious given the narrow window spaces. Adam's work also inspired the coffer
ed ceilings inside. The central stair was a tribute to the one at New York City Hall
, which Gilbert had used as an example of why the face would look better with stone exclusively.
Chase had originally approved a brick-and-stone concept for the company headquarters across the street, but then thought better of it. "...[I]t would seem a presumptuous attempt on the part of private citizens to imitate and share the dignity of city hall", Chase wrote Gilbert. "The position we hold in the community is such that we dislike very much having this impression exist." For the same reason the brothers vetoed the use of a marble facade. The architect and the brothers then toured Manhattan
looking for other ideas, and left it to Gilbert to come up with his ultimate solution, limestone deployed in a more Renaissance Revival style. He in turn persuaded the Chases to accept the wrought iron
fence out front, using the J.P. Morgan Library in Manhattan as an example of how that element could be successful.
The addition of the bank building to the complex allowed Gilbert to use the three buildings to frame the view of the clock tower for westbound traffic on Grand Street. The entourage of City Hall and corresponding setback of the Chase Building allow the tower to dominate a wide open area. When traveling the opposite direction, the large buildings emphasize the parks around them, with glimpses of the denser city beyond the spaces.
Like the City Hall and Lincoln House, the Chase Building prominently features, among its architectural decorations, quotations from Abraham Lincoln
. It is not known why this is so, as Lincoln had no connections to Waterbury. It is possible that renewals of interest in Lincoln in either 1909, the centenary of his birth, or 1915, the 50th anniversary of his death, may have led to this.
Gilbert had apparently added "Quid Aere Perennius", the Horace quote on his own, perhaps as a joke. It now serves as the city's motto. Gilbert had also designed a flag for Waterbury, but the city's aldermen rejected it in favor of a design featuring the city seal.
The city hall is frequently included in listings of Gilbert's major buildings, and he wished to remembered for it. It was used as a model for a new city hall in Lexington, Kentucky
, and possibly that in Mount Vernon, Ohio
, as well. Paul Wayland Bartlett
, the sculptor whom at one point Gilbert had considered asking to contribute work to the building, called it "one of the most beautiful buildings in the United States."
Waterbury west of Waterbury Green. The city, at the height of the industrial prosperity its brassmakers had led, was easily able to rebuild. Eminent citizens of the city had also seen in the process the opportunity to rethink and reshape the city's downtown
, as their counterparts had done six decades earlier when they had created the Green out of a swampy remnant of the original town common.
The first part of the process was the construction of a new train station, for which the streets and blocks near it were cleared and realigned to allow the creation of a small park. Architects McKim, Mead and White gave the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
a significant Second Renaissance Revival
building, capped by a 240 feet (73.2 m) clock tower
based on the Torre del Mangia
that has since become a symbol of the city. After three years of construction, it was completed and opened in 1909.
Henry and Frederick Chase, brothers who owned the eponymous brass company, not only the largest in the city but the country, along with the world's largest clock factory, saw how the clock tower created a new focal point along Grand Street. They felt that the street should now be the main route into downtown, worthy of its name, and developed a 20-year plan to remake it. In line with the principles of the contemporary City Beautiful movement
, they felt it should be the location of a "court of honor" of newer, grander city hall, and other important public and private buildings.
), so the private funding was crucial.
First, the Chases sought to renovate Library Park, on the southeast corner of Grand and Meadow. They hired Frederick Law Olmsted
for this. In 1912 Waterbury's existing, smaller City Hall, on West Main Street opposite the Green, was burned down by an arson
ist. This provided an opportunity to move the city's government to the Grand Street blocks the Chases wanted to serve as an entry to the city. Cass Gilbert
, who had moved to Ridgefield
a few years earlier, won a competition to design City Hall as the first of a complex of buildings that would highlight the public and private heights of the city. He may have been the favorite because the members of the city's building commission had apparently been impressed by his Ives Memorial Library, the main building of the New Haven
Free Public Library
.
It is not certain whether Gilbert was the Chases' first choice for the project. The three did establish a productive relationship, and Gilbert quickly laid out a park for the small block opposite the train station and designed a fountain for it as well. Construction began on City Hall in 1912, shortly after the old building had burned, when the Grand Street site narrowly won in a referendum
. Three years later it was opened, in a dedication ceremony presided over by Governor Marcus H. Holcomb
. In 1917, the entourage that Gilbert had envisioned as ceremonial space was the gathering place for men signing up for the draft
upon U.S. entry into World War I
. Two years later it served as the reviewing stand for the parade held when troops returned.
The privations caused by the Panic of 1907 had made clear the city's need for a single facility from which all its charities could operate. After studying such facilities in other Northeastern cities, the Associated Charities made recommendations to Gilbert in 1915. His design for Lincoln House was the only one significantly altered prior to construction. The original design called for a full frieze
, wooden dentilled cornice and balustrade of brick and wood around the rooftop. Lincoln House was finished in 1916. Since most medical supplies at that time were geared to war production needs, it remained largely unoccupied until 1917. In 1921 Associated Charities, as much to avoid the stigma of its name that discouraged those it was meant to serve from seeking help from it as to reflect that it had become known by the name of the building, changed its name to the Lincoln House Association.
During that time the Chases were occupied with seeing through the construction of their new corporate headquarters. The existing buildings were acquired and demolished. After Henry Chase died in 1918, his brother Frederick assumed his responsibilities. He continued the good relationship with Gilbert Henry had had.
In the last years of his life, Henry Chase had begun acquiring the land for the bank building. Gilbert was asked to draw up plans, and delivered them in late 1919. Construction began a few months later, and was completed in 1922.
The last building to be added was the dispensary. It had always been planned—Gilbert was instructed to design it in 1916—but the shortage of materials caused by the war resulted in its construction being put off. In 1923 the Chase family created a permanent endowment fund for it. Construction began in 1923 and the building was in use within the year.
in Washington, drew his attention and he was unable to return to Waterbury before he died in 1934. The land was eventually sold to the federal government in the late 1930s for the city's new post office.
In 1930 the city's Chamber of Commerce
moved into the Power House from Lincoln House. The charities and dispensary were very busy places at that time with the onset of the Great Depression
. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
and his wife Eleanor
visited City Hall in 1936 on their way to a rally in Library Park.
World War II
affected the buildings as well. Scrap metal was piled up on the entourage in front of City Hall, and the tower was surrounded with scaffolding
so that air wardens could keep watch from it. The Power House's door was sandbagged. Parades on V-E and V-J days were held down Grand Street with the reviewing section in front City Hall, as parades still are on civic holidays like Independence
and Memorial days.
After the war, there were other changes. The Lincoln House Association changed its name again, to the Family Service Association (It is now Family Services of Greater Waterbury). Other tenants of the space in those years included the city's Adult Probation Department, Legal Aid
, and the local Chamber of Commerce
, which was headquartered in the Power House next door. That building was also renovated, sometime before 1950, with the addition of a second story and a paint job, bringing the brick closer to the bank building's limestone and better concealing the divide between the new and old brickwork.
The Chase companies, by then Chase Brass & Copper, continued to use the headquarters building until the early 1960s. In 1963 ten residents interested in preserving
the building bought it from the company. After three years, they in turn sold it to the city. It has been used as supplemental municipal office space ever since.
In the late 20th century, other organizations that had been housed in the buildings also left them. The Chamber of Commerce left the Power House in 1960. In 1974, the Family Service Association, in need of space more suited to its needs, left Lincoln House after half a century for new quarters on Murray Street. The dispensary left as well that year. Lincoln House passed through several owners, its future uncertain for a while, until it was rehabilitated into law offices by one. The dispensary is now home to the Connecticut Community Foundation.
By the early 21st century, most city government functions, including the mayor's office and council meetings, had been moved across the street to the Chase Building. City Hall itself had fallen into serious decline. Inspections found water leaking through the ceiling and into the walls and roof, rusting the structural steel and loosening stones on the face. Vandals opened a fire hose in 2005, flooding the entire building. More flooding damaged the building when copper piping was stolen. The Fire Department eventually ordered all government bodies out of the building save the City Clerk's office, which could not function without access to the records vault.
In 2006 the City Council approved a $48 million bond issue to repair and restore
the building. Aldermen from the Independent Party who believed the public should decide on a spending program that large succeeded in getting the issue put to a referendum
in 2007, which defeated it. After council trimmed the proposal to $36 million, the Independent aldermen agreed not to seek another referendum, and it was adopted. The building was reopened in 2011.
Waterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, on the Naugatuck River, 33 miles southwest of Hartford and 77 miles northeast of New York City...
, Connecticut, United States. They are large stone and brick structures, all designed by Cass Gilbert
Cass Gilbert
- Historical impact :Gilbert is considered a skyscraper pioneer; when designing the Woolworth Building he moved into unproven ground — though he certainly was aware of the ground-breaking work done by Chicago architects on skyscrapers and once discussed merging firms with the legendary Daniel...
in the Georgian Revival and Second Renaissance Revival
Second Renaissance Revival architecture
Second Renaissance Revival architecture is a category of architecture used in classifying buildings listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It has been applied by the National Register for hundreds of places.-See also:...
architectural style
Architectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
s, built during the 1910s. In 1978 they were designated as a historic district
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. They are now contributing properties
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
to the Downtown Waterbury Historic District
Downtown Waterbury Historic District
The Downtown Waterbury Historic District is the core of the city of Waterbury, Connecticut, United States. It is a roughly rectangular area centered around West Main Street and Waterbury Green, the remnant of the original town commons, which has been called "one of the most attractive downtown...
.
The complex was financed by the Chase family, owners of the Chase Brass Company, one of Waterbury's major industries at the time. In the wake of a 1902 fire that had destroyed a portion of downtown, the Chases and other local businessmen saw an opportunity for urban renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
. Cass Gilbert
Cass Gilbert
- Historical impact :Gilbert is considered a skyscraper pioneer; when designing the Woolworth Building he moved into unproven ground — though he certainly was aware of the ground-breaking work done by Chicago architects on skyscrapers and once discussed merging firms with the legendary Daniel...
won the competition to design a new complex a few blocks from the old city hall building (since demolished) on West Main Street. Unusual for the time, the complex would house not just the mayor and city council but the public safety
Public Safety
Public safety involves the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety of the general public from significant danger, injury/harm, or damage, such as crimes or disasters .-See also:* By nation...
functions of city government such the police and fire departments, courts and jails. In keeping with the contemporary City Beautiful movement
City Beautiful movement
The City Beautiful Movement was a reform philosophy concerning North American architecture and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of using beautification and monumental grandeur in cities. The movement, which was originally associated mainly with Chicago,...
, the complex included other large-scaled buildings in its "court of honor", such as Chase's headquarters
Chase Headquarters Building
The Chase Headquarters Building is a building in Waterbury, Connecticut on Grand Street across from the city hall. It is now occupied by the city of Waterbury’s offices.-Architecture:...
, a building named Lincoln House for the city's charitable organizations and a dispensary
Dispensary
A dispensary is an office in a school, hospital or other organization that dispenses medications and medical supplies. In a traditional dispensary set-up a pharmacist dispenses medication as per prescription or order form....
.
Similar architectural characteristics and motifs unite the buildings thematically. They have flat roofs, rusticated
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
ground levels, and pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s dividing bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
in the middle stories. The two largest, City Hall and the Chase Building, have an opposite configuration. Many of the same decorative
Ornament (architecture)
In architecture and decorative art, ornament is a decoration used to embellish parts of a building or object. Large figurative elements such as monumental sculpture and their equivalents in decorative art are excluded from the term; most ornament does not include human figures, and if present they...
patterns are used on all the buildings. One in particular is the use of quotations from Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. This is interesting since Lincoln never visited Waterbury nor had any particular connection with the city. It is possible that they reflect a renewed interest in Lincoln in the wake of the centenary of his birth or the 50th anniversary of his death, both recent occurrences at the time of the complex's construction.
The headquarters building and Lincoln House have since been converted
Adaptive reuse
Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an old site or building for a purpose other than which it was built or designed for. Along with brownfield reclamation, adaptive reuse is seen by many as a key factor in land conservation and the reduction of urban sprawl...
to other uses, mainly private office space and additional city offices. City government continues to occupy City Hall. By the end of the 20th century the decline of the city's industries had led to the deterioration of the building, and it was condemned by the city's building department. A bond issue was later passed to raise money for its restoration.
Buildings
The five buildings in the complex cover a 4.4 acres (1.8 ha) area of Grand and Field streets on the south edge of downtown Waterbury, just north of the Interstate 84Interstate 84 in Connecticut
Interstate 84 is an East–West Interstate highway across the state of Connecticut into Danbury, Waterbury, Hartford and Union.-Route description:...
viaduct. City Hall and the Chase Building are on opposite sides of Grand between Church, Field and Leavenworth streets; the other four are on the east side of Field. Immediately adjacent are some other public buildings: a National Guard
Connecticut National Guard
The Connecticut National Guard consists of the Connecticut Army National Guard and theConnecticut Air National Guard. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and state missions. In fact, the National Guard is the only United States military...
facility to the south; the city's post office and a federal court building on the east along the south side of Grand (across from a row of commercial buildings), a state courthouse and the Silas Bronson library and its park to the west.
City Hall
Located on the south side of Grand, City Hall has three sections. A large main block faces the street, with two projecting rear wings on the south housing the police and fire departments. They are connected by a rear section to form a courtyardCourtyard
A court or courtyard is an enclosed area, often a space enclosed by a building that is open to the sky. These areas in inns and public buildings were often the primary meeting places for some purposes, leading to the other meanings of court....
. A garage has been added to the fire station since construction.
The main block is a three-story, 17-by-3-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
(203 feet (61.9 m) long by 46 feet (14 m) high) Georgian Revival structure, faced in marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
on its first story and brick with marble trim on the upper two. Atop its flat roof is a small penthouse, from which a four-stage tower rises. It is set back
Setback (land use)
In land use, a setback is the distance which a building or other structure is set back from a street or road, a river or other stream, a shore or flood plain, or any other place which needs protection. Depending on the jurisdiction, other things like fences, landscaping, septic tanks, and various...
80 feet (24.4 m) from the street to allow for a fountain plaza Gilbert referred to as the entourage.
The entourage is a rectangular area, reached by steps from the street, with a paved oval at the center. In the middle of the oval is a round marble fountain within a round catch basin. Six carved light standards, each with two lamps, flank the steps leading from the street. On either side of the entourage are large flagpoles on bronze bases inside grass parterre
Parterre
A parterre is a formal garden construction on a level surface consisting of planting beds, edged in stone or tightly clipped hedging, and gravel paths arranged to form a pleasing, usually symmetrical pattern. Parterres need not have any flowers at all...
s bordered by small hedges. At the rear of the parterres are marble urns with fountains flanking the balustraded entrance steps.
Exterior
On the north (front) facadeFacade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
, the first-story marble is rusticated
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
. Trabeated six-over-six double-hung sash window
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
s are slightly recessed in arched surrounds. The corners are slightly recessed; the middle 11 bays project slightly to form a small pavilion.
Atop the first story of that pavilion is a blind paneled balustrade. Large fluted
Fluting (architecture)
Fluting in architecture refers to the shallow grooves running vertically along a surface.It typically refers to the grooves running on a column shaft or a pilaster, but need not necessarily be restricted to those two applications...
composite
Composite order
The composite order is a mixed order, combining the volutes of the Ionic order capital with the acanthus leaves of the Corinthian order. The composite order volutes are larger, however, and the composite order also has echinus molding with egg-and-dart ornamentation between the volutes...
pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s divide each bay, set with recessed nine-over-nine double-hung sash and projecting cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
caps in the pavilion and full round-arched windows on the ends. At the end of the pavilion are narrow sash windows with bronze grilles. The center bays of the end sets, and the pavilion bays, have bronze geometric balconies with center medallions.
A thin terra cotta
Architectural terracotta
Terracotta, in its unglazed form, became fashionable as an architectural ceramic construction material in England in the 1860s, and in the United States in the 1870s. It was generally used to supplement brick and tiles of similar colour in late Victorian buildings.It had been used before this in...
belt course
Course (architecture)
A course is a continuous horizontal layer of similarly-sized building material one unit high, usually in a wall. The term is almost always used in conjunction with unit masonry such as brick, cut stone, or concrete masonry units .-Styles:...
with gouge
Gouge
Gouge may refer to:*Gouge, a form of chisel*Gouais blanc, a French wine grape*Price gouging, a legal term*Eye-gouging , an offence in rugby union*Eye-gouging, the act of pressing or tearing the eye...
work and geometric shapes sets off the third story. The pavilion has trabeated six-over-six sash flanked by blind bays at its end, and the end bays have circular bas-reliefs
Relief
Relief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...
, depicting, from east to west, "Industry" as a workman amid gears and cogs, the city seal, "Commerce", as a figure of Mercury with a caduceus
Caduceus
The caduceus is the staff carried by Hermes in Greek mythology. The same staff was also borne by heralds in general, for example by Iris, the messenger of Hera. It is a short staff entwined by two serpents, sometimes surmounted by wings...
, "Force" as a Roman gladiator
Gladiator
A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...
, and Justice
Lady Justice
Lady Justice |Dike]]) is an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial systems.-Depiction:The personification of justice balancing the scales of truth and fairness dates back to the Goddess Maat, and later Isis, of ancient Egypt. The Hellenic deities Themis and Dike were later...
. In the pilaster capitals
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
are two designs, one of which features a prominent eagle.
The marble frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
below the roofline has a regular pattern of decorated discs with swags
Festoon
Festoon , a wreath or garland, and so in architecture a conventional arrangement of flowers, foliage or fruit bound together and suspended by ribbons, either from a decorated knot, or held in the mouths of lions, or suspended across the back of bulls heads as...
at the pavilion ends. Above it is a modillioned cornice with carved leaves and bead-and-reel
Bead and reel
"Bead and reel" is an architectural motif, usually found in sculptures, moldings and numismatics. It consists in a thin line where beadlike elements alternate with cylindrical ones....
moldings
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
. They in turn support a broad balustrade. At the pavilion ends and above the three center bays are panels with vertical gougework in a wave pattern. The center is further decorated with the inscription Quid Aere Perennius, Latin for "more lasting than brass."
On the east and west sides are a central entrance with steps on either side. Above it is an arched tablet with an inscription: "Impartiality is the life of Justice as Justice is of all government. Justice is the constant desire and effort to render to every man his due" by the Roman emperor Justinian I
Justinian I
Justinian I ; , ; 483– 13 or 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.One of the most important figures of...
on the west, and "Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith let us to the end dare to do our duty as we understand it" attributed to Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
on the east. The third story has a panel (further inscribed with "Reason is the Life of Law" on the west) between two circular bas-reliefs in carved leaf surrounds. On the east side they depict "Truth" as a woman contemplating a skull and "Prudence" as a woman gazing into a mirror; on the west are "Wisdom" as an aged man holding a lamp and "Order" as a female with a mace.
The tower's lowest stage has corner pilasters and louver
Louver
A louver or louvre , from the French l'ouvert; "the open one") is a window, blind or shutter with horizontal slats that are angled to admit light and air, but to keep out rain, direct sunshine, and noise...
ed flat-topped openings in all four sides. Above it is a blind balustrade with corner posts and swags. Pilasters frame arched openings. Another blind balustrade, its corners topped with urns, has clocks in all four faces. The final stage is a bell-cast gilded
Gilding
The term gilding covers a number of decorative techniques for applying fine gold leaf or powder to solid surfaces such as wood, stone, or metal to give a thin coating of gold. A gilded object is described as "gilt"...
roof with bronze weathervane.
On the east side, the fire station wing is a nine-by-eleven-bay two-story structure. Like the main block it is stone on the first and brick up top. Five of the six arched bays on the east side are used for fire engine garages, their double doors topped with radiating-sash fanlight
Fanlight
A fanlight is a window, semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan, It is placed over another window or a doorway. and is sometimes hinged to a transom. The bars in the fixed glazed window spread out in the manner a sunburst...
s. The seventh bay is a regular door, leading to offices. The two stories are separated by another blind balustrade. Above the arched second story windows, set with six-over-six trabeated sash, is a plain cornice and marble-topped parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
.
The police wing, on the east, is mostly identical. A rear wing houses the jail. It has eleven bays at street level, and the main entrance is in the center of the west facade. Its rear bays have trabeated openings with bronze grilles.
Inside the wall between the two wings is a courtyard. It has gardens and benches. Several of those latter are original Gilbert designs.
Interior
The center door is screened by a bronze grille. It has a full foliate surround and fan, radiating from a central cluster to end in anthemia. On the door itself are grilles of square panels with center medallions that alternate between round and square shapes and rosetteRosette (design)
A rosette is a round, stylized flower design, used extensively in sculptural objects from antiquity. Appearing in Mesopotamia and used to decorate the funeral stele in Ancient Greece...
bindings.
Behind it, there is a small vestibule
Vestibule (architecture)
A vestibule is a lobby, entrance hall, or passage between the entrance and the interior of a building.The same term can apply to structures in modern or ancient roman architecture. In modern architecture vestibule typically refers to a small room or hall between an entrance and the interior of...
. Bronze commemorative plaque
Commemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event...
s on the sides honor local World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
veterans. A rear entry with sidelights topped by teardrops and an elliptical arch with fanlight, all of leaded glass
Leaded glass
Leaded glass may refer to:*Lead glass, potassium silicate glass which has been impregnated with a small amount of lead oxide in its fabrication...
, opens into the east-west central hallway.
The hallway is sided in Vermont marble with carved panels featuring a fleur de lis pattern at the base, supported on eagle brackets and divided by pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s with oak and acorn capitals. To the west of the vestibule is a panel with gilded letters both serving as a building directory and dedication plaque. Entrances are set in arcaded
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
surrounds with medallions; the stairway and vestibule arches have eagle keystone
Keystone (architecture)
A keystone is the wedge-shaped stone piece at the apex of a masonry vault or arch, which is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allowing the arch to bear weight. This makes a keystone very important structurally...
s. Atop the wall is a frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
with a center lamp between griffin
Griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle...
s holding ribbons and garlands
Garland (decoration)
A garland is a decorative wreath or cord, used at festive occasions, which can be hung round a person's neck, or on inanimate objects like Christmas trees. Originally garlands were made of flowers or leaves.-Etymology:...
. The coffer
Coffer
A coffer in architecture, is a sunken panel in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault...
ed ceiling is painted with triangles and rosettes. Round hanging bronze glazed lanterns with clustered bulbs provide light.
The front lobby is also lit from the rear by a six-over-six double-hung sash set with leaded and stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
, opaque on the bottom but with a cartouche
Cartouche
In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an ellipse with a horizontal line at one end, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name, coming into use during the beginning of the Fourth Dynasty under Pharaoh Sneferu, replacing the earlier serekh...
and swag on top. The stair climbs to a Palladian window, also with stained glass. It is decorated with swags and ribbons, corner cartouches and panels topped with eagles in the center and vases and foliation topped with a lit torch on the outer panels. A cartouche-enclosed oval at the top has the date "1915" carved within.
At the landing next to this window the stairs divide. They are girded by an iron balustrade with bronze railing. The stairwell is further balustraded with a stylized compass in the center and a wave beneath the rail.
In the second floor hallway, decoration is more restrained. It has marble floors, wainscoting, door and window surrounds and pilasters but the walls themselves are plaster. The pilasters are topped with Roman Doric capitals that support a decorated frieze and dentilled cornice. In the metopes
Metope (architecture)
In classical architecture, a metope is a rectangular architectural element that fills the space between two triglyphs in a Doric frieze, which is a decorative band of alternating triglyphs and metopes above the architrave of a building of the Doric order...
are painted vases and medallions. The ceilings are plain.
The original mayor's office is directly opposite the top of the stairs. It has freestanding fluted
Fluting (architecture)
Fluting in architecture refers to the shallow grooves running vertically along a surface.It typically refers to the grooves running on a column shaft or a pilaster, but need not necessarily be restricted to those two applications...
Roman Doric columns in the entrance. Fluted wall pilasters and marble wainscoting supporting a full entablature
Entablature
An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave , the frieze ,...
and arched ceiling.
On either end of the hallway are city council chambers. The eastern one was originally built for that purpose; the western one was a courtroom. In the former, the aldermens' desks are within a semicircular balustrade outlined with paralleling benches for the public. The Roman Doric continues to be used. Fluted pilasters in that mode support a full entablature and modillioned cornice. On the ceiling are octagonal panels with rosettes at the center. From it hangs a bronze chandelier with two levels of electric candles. The wall sconce
Sconce
Sconce may refer to any of the following:* Sconce , a military fortification* Sconce * Sconcing, imposing a penalty in the form of drink* SCoNCe, , University of California, Irvine...
s, corner lights and door clock are original. A 1934 map of Waterbury has been substituted for an original decoration behind the mayor's chair.
Due to the change in use, there is less original detail in the west chamber. The balustrade, wall clock and light fixtures are among those aspects that do. The ceiling, also original, has the same center rosettes as its eastern counterpart but with square panels on the outer portions.
Chase Headquarters Building
Facing city hall from the other side of the street, the Chase building's 21-bay south (front) facade is 243 feet (74.1 m) in length, making the Chase building wider than city hall which it complements by reversing the facade planes. An iron fence with small trees runs along the sidewalk; from it a walk leads up to balustraded steps at the main entrance. On either end two three-bay–wide wings project four bays to the street. In the central 15-bay section, the middle three bays project forward slightly.The three-story building is faced entirely in Indiana limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
. The first story is, like City Hall's marble, rusticated
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
, with the bays on the inside of the wings and the center pavilion made a series of segmented arches to give them an arcade
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
appearance. On the east and west elevations only the interior bays are in arches. Within them are large six-over-six double-hung trabeated sash window
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
s. Above them a cornice forms the base for fluted
Fluting (architecture)
Fluting in architecture refers to the shallow grooves running vertically along a surface.It typically refers to the grooves running on a column shaft or a pilaster, but need not necessarily be restricted to those two applications...
pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s with Tower of the Winds
Tower of the Winds
The Tower of the Winds, also called horologion , is an octagonal Pentelic marble clocktower on the Roman agora in Athens. The structure features a combination of sundials, a water clock and a wind vane...
capitals
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
that divide the windows on the upper two stories.
The second story windows are also sash, set in rectangular openings with sills and cornice caps on consoles topped with rosettes or oval patera. The middle bays of the wings are six-over-six in a slightly recessed arch with pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
ed lintel on consoles. They have a small balcony with iron guardrails. A stringcourse around the building sets off the third story and forms its window sills. The central section has six-over-six with a plain surround. On both second and third stories of the wings' south face they are flanked by narrower four-over-four sash.
The frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
below the roof cornice has rosettes or patera atop each pilaster. In the middle of the wings, and above the central pavilion, is a solid panel. That above the pavilion has "CHASE" carved in it. The north (rear) facade is less ornate but also well-delineated. A balustrade runs along the flat roof; there is a penthouse in the center.
Four fluted Tower of the Winds columns rise from the balcony level of the central pavilion. The windows they divide are identical to those in the middle bays of the wing end second stories, with the third stories likewise fenestrated with shorter six-over-six. Two bronze lanterns flank the main entrance, with grille-covered four-over-four sash in the outside bays.
The simple bronze door leads, as in City Hall, into a vestibule
Vestibule (architecture)
A vestibule is a lobby, entrance hall, or passage between the entrance and the interior of a building.The same term can apply to structures in modern or ancient roman architecture. In modern architecture vestibule typically refers to a small room or hall between an entrance and the interior of...
. Opposite it, across the central hallway, is the main staircase. At its landing is a multilevel stained glass window, with urns, foliate and architectural motifs flanking a central panel with another quotation from Lincoln: "Go forward without fear and with manly heart." Near the top is "A.D. 1919". Across from the top of the stair is the building's dedication plaque. An iron balustrade with bronze railings runs along the stairs, marble like all the building's flooring. The ceilings are enamel
Vitreous enamel
Vitreous enamel, also porcelain enamel in U.S. English, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C...
ed, and the door and window surrounds dark wood.
Waterbury National Bank building
The former Waterbury National Bank Building, now headquarters for Junior AchievementJunior Achievement
Junior Achievement or JA or JA Worldwide is a non-profit youth organization that was founded in 1919 by Horace A. Moses, Theodore Vail, and senator Winthrop M. Crane. JA focuses on educating kids in K-12 about the free enterprise system...
of Southwestern New England, is located on the southeast corner of Field and Grand. It is a four-story five-by-seven-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
structure faced, like the Chase Building on the far corner, in limestone. All four facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
s are finished; a cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
fence sets off the north and west facades from the sidewalks.
Both of those facades have an identical treatment, echoing the Chase Building and City Hall. Like them, the first story is finished in rusticated
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
segmented arches. They are set with six-section rounded-arch windows, again creating an arcade
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
effect. The windows' sections are a full window with flanking sidelights and three matching sections in the fan. Beneath them are wooden panels decorated with the same wave pattern used in City Hall's parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
panels.
The corners are emphasized with slight recess and pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s. As with the other two buildings, pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s, here with Corinthian
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
capitals, spring from a stringcourse
Course (architecture)
A course is a continuous horizontal layer of similarly-sized building material one unit high, usually in a wall. The term is almost always used in conjunction with unit masonry such as brick, cut stone, or concrete masonry units .-Styles:...
above the first story to divide the bays of the second and third stories, forming a balustrade. Six-over-six trabeated double-hung sash on the second floor are topped with cap cornices. Above them the third level windows are plainer and shorter trabeated six-over-six.
Above the third story is a full entablature
Entablature
An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave , the frieze ,...
with gouge work and medallions topped by a broad dentilled and modllioned cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
. The fourth-story windows are the same as the ones below. Above them is a slightly less broad dentilled cornice supporting a small parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
.
The entrance is a simple bronze door. It opens into the former bank lobby. Bronze cashiers railings with grilles atop marble counters lead to where the tellers' cages once stood. There are front and rear mezzanines
Mezzanine (architecture)
In architecture, a mezzanine or entresol is an intermediate floor between main floors of a building, and therefore typically not counted among the overall floors of a building. Often, a mezzanine is low-ceilinged and projects in the form of a balcony. The term is also used for the lowest balcony in...
. From the marble floor square columns with neck moldings
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
rise to the coffer
Coffer
A coffer in architecture, is a sunken panel in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault...
ed marble ceiling.
Iron stairs with bronze railings lead to the upper floors. Some of them have their original terrazzo
Terrazzo
Terrazzo is a composite material poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of marble, quartz, granite, glass or other suitable chips, sprinkled or unsprinkled, and poured with a binder that is cementitious, chemical or a combination of both...
floors. There are also original dark wood surrounds on some office doors, with a few having their original panels below and glazed panels of opaque glass in their upper sections and even transoms. At the first floor stair entry are the original bronze directory panel and mail chute
Mail chute
A mail chute is a largely defunct letter collection device used in early multi-story office buildings, hotels, apartment buildings and other high rise structures. Letters were dropped from the upper stories and collected at a central depository by the postal service...
.
Power House
An older building is joined to the bank building's southern elevation, between it and the Lincoln House. It is a two-story structure of brick, painted to match the limestone bank, in Flemish bond. Arched windows with stone keystones and impost blocks relate it to the other buildings in the area. It also has brick quoinQuoin (architecture)
Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...
s and a flat roof.
It is likely the only remaining structure in the neighborhood that predates the construction of the buildings, built around 1900. Originally it was used as a power station. Gilbert, who hoped to make it part of a theater that would have been the complex's sixth building, called it the "Power House" on those plans. It was later renovated and annexed to the bank building.
Lincoln House
On the east side of Field Street, south of the bank building, is Lincoln House. It is a three-story five-bay square Georgian Revival structure of brick laid in Flemish bond with marble trim. A flat roof is pierced by a brick chimney near the center of the north side.Exterior
The west (front) facadeFacade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
has a slightly exposed basement with reveted four-pane sash window
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
s. Above a marble water table
Water table
The water table is the level at which the submarine pressure is far from atmospheric pressure. It may be conveniently visualized as the 'surface' of the subsurface materials that are saturated with groundwater in a given vicinity. However, saturated conditions may extend above the water table as...
, all windows are trabeated, with marble surrounds. A stringcourse
Course (architecture)
A course is a continuous horizontal layer of similarly-sized building material one unit high, usually in a wall. The term is almost always used in conjunction with unit masonry such as brick, cut stone, or concrete masonry units .-Styles:...
of header bricks laid vertically creates a springline for the round arches with keystones that enclose the second floor windows. Both they and the first-story windows are six-over-six double-hung sash; the third story has three-over-three. Above them is a narrow dentilled cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
and parapet capped with salt-glazed tile, the latter of which runs around the entire building.
All the other three facades are similarly treated. On the east (rear) the entrance is at ground level, and the windows are correspondingly dropped to provide better lighting at that level. The south side has a centrally located basement entry, matched by a smaller sash in the center of the north facade.
Marble steps lead up to the main entrance, in the middle of the west elevation. Its ornate surround has engaged columns on marble bases topped by a plain frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
and open pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
. Inside that pediment is the entrance fanlight
Fanlight
A fanlight is a window, semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan, It is placed over another window or a doorway. and is sometimes hinged to a transom. The bars in the fixed glazed window spread out in the manner a sunburst...
, with a molded
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
surround of its own topped by a keystone. The door itself has deep panels, six horizontal ones atop two vertical.
Interior
It opens into a small vestibuleVestibule (architecture)
A vestibule is a lobby, entrance hall, or passage between the entrance and the interior of a building.The same term can apply to structures in modern or ancient roman architecture. In modern architecture vestibule typically refers to a small room or hall between an entrance and the interior of...
. Originally on the walls were marble plaques with more Lincoln quotes, including "With malice toward none, and with charity towards all ..." from his second inaugural address
Lincoln's second inaugural address
Abraham Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address on March 4, 1865, during his second inauguration as President of the United States. At a time when victory over the secessionists in the American Civil War was within days and slavery was near an end, Lincoln did not speak of happiness, but of...
. At the end of the vestibule is a door with elliptical fanlight, leaded
Leaded glass
Leaded glass may refer to:*Lead glass, potassium silicate glass which has been impregnated with a small amount of lead oxide in its fabrication...
sidelights and Adamesque
Adam style
The Adam style is an 18th century neoclassical style of interior design and architecture, as practiced by the three Adam brothers from Scotland; of whom Robert Adam and James Adam were the most widely known.The Adam brothers were the first to advocate an integrated style for architecture and...
detailing.
Off to the right is an office and waiting room. It has another tribute to Lincoln, a shield-shaped marble plaque with the entire Gettysburg Address
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and is one of the most well-known speeches in United States history. It was delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery...
on it above a facsimile of Lincoln's signature. At the top is a bas-relief
Relief
Relief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...
of Lincoln below an eagle in flight.
Behind the vestibule door is a central hallway. Wainscoting along the hall continues to the main staircase in the rear. On the left is the dining room, with the greatest amount of detail of any room in the building. It has a flat baseboard
Baseboard
In architecture, a baseboard is a board covering the lowest part of an interior wall...
with similar chair rail and picture molding. The brick of the chimney breast projects into the room space, echoing the brick of the hearth
Hearth
In common historic and modern usage, a hearth is a brick- or stone-lined fireplace or oven often used for cooking and/or heating. For centuries, the hearth was considered an integral part of a home, often its central or most important feature...
below. Above it is a Federal style mantel
Fireplace mantel
Fireplace mantel or mantelpiece, also known as a chimneypiece, originated in medieval times as a hood that projected over a grate to catch the smoke. The term has evolved to include the decorative framework around the fireplace, and can include elaborate designs extending to the ceiling...
where flat pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
rise to a plain frieze topped by a molded shelf. The kitchen, in the rear, retains much of its original cabinetry.
At the rear of the hall the main staircase continues the wainscoting. Made of wood with round oak newel
Newel
A newel, also called a central pole, is an upright post that supports the handrail of a stair banister. In stairs having straight flights it is the principal post at the foot of the staircase, but it can also be used for the intermediate posts on landings and at the top of a staircase...
on a square base with neck molding and circular cap, it has a somewhat Victorian feel
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
. It ends in a square room upstairs. Another stair, rising from the rear entrance, was designed to be used by those served by the charities housed in the building, and thus climbs to the third floor in short, gentle flights. It has exposed brick walls.
The main stairs end in a small, plain square room on the second floor. It leads into a wider version of the central hall, meant to serve as a waiting room. Off it are some bedrooms and examining rooms. The third story is all bedrooms, and the basement is equipped with showers and fumigating rooms.
Chase Memorial Dispensary
The Chase Memorial DispensaryDispensary
A dispensary is an office in a school, hospital or other organization that dispenses medications and medical supplies. In a traditional dispensary set-up a pharmacist dispenses medication as per prescription or order form....
is located immediately to the south of Lincoln House on Field Street. It was the last building of the complex constructed, after the space in Lincoln House allotted to the dispensary proved inadequate. Like Lincoln House, it is of brick in Flemish bond, five bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
square, with marble accents and a flat roof. Exposed basement windows below the water table
Water table
The water table is the level at which the submarine pressure is far from atmospheric pressure. It may be conveniently visualized as the 'surface' of the subsurface materials that are saturated with groundwater in a given vicinity. However, saturated conditions may extend above the water table as...
are, like its neighbor, four-pane sash
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
, with those on the upper stories trabeated six-over-six double-hung sash, in round arches on the second story.
Unlike Lincoln House, the dispensary is only two stories in height. Atop the building is a narrow frieze created by vertically laid bricks and a marble cornice with Wall of Troy molded marble dentilling. The roofline has a marble balustrade instead of a parapet.
The side elevations are mostly similar in treatment. The north facade has four-over-four frosted glass
Frosted glass
Frosted glass is produced by the sandblasting or acid etching of clear sheet glass. It has the effect of rendering the glass translucent by scattering of light during transmission, thus blurring images while still transmitting light.Applications:...
in the second and fourth bays at both levels and the south has a large, two-level arched window in the center bay with two six-over-six windows. In the rear the balustrade has five solid marble panels. The chimney, brick capped with marble, rises from the roof just south of the northeast corner.
At the centrally located main entrance, the marble steps fan out, flanked by a cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
railing. It supports cast iron and frosted glass lamps on bronze standards. The doorway is recessed in a brick arch with marble keystone, carved with an oval chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemums, often called mums or chrysanths, are of the genus constituting approximately 30 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Asteraceae which is native to Asia and northeastern Europe.-Etymology:...
patera
Patera
A patera was a broad, shallow dish used for drinking, primarily in a ritual context such as a libation. These paterae were often used in Rome....
, and impost
Impost
Impost may mean:*A type of extra tax*A handicap used in horse racing*Impost : a block or capital on which an arch rests*A tax levied on imports....
blocks paneled on the outer facings and autographed on the inner ones. Above the entry a marble panel reads "Henry Sabin Chase Memorial Dispensary".
The front and rear doors open into identical vestibule
Vestibule (architecture)
A vestibule is a lobby, entrance hall, or passage between the entrance and the interior of a building.The same term can apply to structures in modern or ancient roman architecture. In modern architecture vestibule typically refers to a small room or hall between an entrance and the interior of...
s, with screened doors at the exterior and interior doors repeating the outside doors' fanlights, sidelights and surrounds. The door designs, six horizontal panels above two vertical ones, are similar to that on the neighboring Lincoln House. From the vestibules there is access to a large central room with coved ceiling. A main desk area is on the north with a dumbwaiter
Dumbwaiter (elevator)
Dumbwaiters are small freight elevators intended to carry objects rather than people. Dumbwaiters found within modern structures, including both commercial and private buildings, are often connected between two floors...
connecting it to a similar area on the second floor. The stair opening is to the south; examining rooms and offices are on the east and west.
The stair, flanked by an oak railing with square baluster
Baluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...
s, leads to the basement and the second floor. Upstairs, the layout is identical to the first floor except for offices in the vestibule spaces. Many sinks remain in the examining room along with cabinets and shelving. The original light fixtures, molded milk glass globes hanging from brass chains, also remain although some were damaged by plaster falling from the ceiling.
Aesthetics
Gilbert took as his main inspiration for City Hall the house designed in 1772 by Robert AdamRobert Adam
Robert Adam was a Scottish neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam , Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him...
for Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn
Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 4th Baronet
Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 4th Baronet was a Welsh politician and patron of the arts.Sir Watkin was the eldest son of the second marriage of his father, Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 3rd Baronet, to Frances Shackerley of Cheshire...
at 20 St. James Square
St. James Square
- United Kingdom :* St. James's Square, London, England* St. James Square, Chichester, England* St. James Square, Edinburgh, Scotland- United States :* St. James Square, San Jose, California* St. James Square, Niskayuna, New York...
in London. "I have been studying a number of English examples of the Georgian period", he wrote to a friend, "and find so many in which the material was all brick or stone that I am justified in quoting this one as typical." He had wanted the facing to be entirely marble as well, but the city insisted on brick and stone, an alternation which Gilbert had felt would be disharmonious given the narrow window spaces. Adam's work also inspired the coffer
Coffer
A coffer in architecture, is a sunken panel in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault...
ed ceilings inside. The central stair was a tribute to the one at New York City Hall
New York City Hall
New York City Hall is located at the center of City Hall Park in the Civic Center area of Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA, between Broadway, Park Row, and Chambers Street. The building is the oldest City Hall in the United States that still houses its original governmental functions, such as...
, which Gilbert had used as an example of why the face would look better with stone exclusively.
Chase had originally approved a brick-and-stone concept for the company headquarters across the street, but then thought better of it. "...[I]t would seem a presumptuous attempt on the part of private citizens to imitate and share the dignity of city hall", Chase wrote Gilbert. "The position we hold in the community is such that we dislike very much having this impression exist." For the same reason the brothers vetoed the use of a marble facade. The architect and the brothers then toured Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
looking for other ideas, and left it to Gilbert to come up with his ultimate solution, limestone deployed in a more Renaissance Revival style. He in turn persuaded the Chases to accept the wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
fence out front, using the J.P. Morgan Library in Manhattan as an example of how that element could be successful.
The addition of the bank building to the complex allowed Gilbert to use the three buildings to frame the view of the clock tower for westbound traffic on Grand Street. The entourage of City Hall and corresponding setback of the Chase Building allow the tower to dominate a wide open area. When traveling the opposite direction, the large buildings emphasize the parks around them, with glimpses of the denser city beyond the spaces.
Like the City Hall and Lincoln House, the Chase Building prominently features, among its architectural decorations, quotations from Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. It is not known why this is so, as Lincoln had no connections to Waterbury. It is possible that renewals of interest in Lincoln in either 1909, the centenary of his birth, or 1915, the 50th anniversary of his death, may have led to this.
Gilbert had apparently added "Quid Aere Perennius", the Horace quote on his own, perhaps as a joke. It now serves as the city's motto. Gilbert had also designed a flag for Waterbury, but the city's aldermen rejected it in favor of a design featuring the city seal.
The city hall is frequently included in listings of Gilbert's major buildings, and he wished to remembered for it. It was used as a model for a new city hall in Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
, and possibly that in Mount Vernon, Ohio
Mount Vernon, Ohio
Mount Vernon is a city in Knox County, Ohio, United States. The population was 16,990 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Knox County. The city is named after Mount Vernon, the plantation owned by George Washington.-History:...
, as well. Paul Wayland Bartlett
Paul Wayland Bartlett
Paul Wayland Bartlett was an American sculptor working in the Beaux-Arts tradition of heroic realism. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut, the son of Truman Howe Bartlett, an art critic and sculptor....
, the sculptor whom at one point Gilbert had considered asking to contribute work to the building, called it "one of the most beautiful buildings in the United States."
History
The complex took several years to conceive and a decade to build. It has continued to play a role in the city's history since then.1902–1912: Renewal and concept
In 1902 a fire burned three acres (3 acres (1.2 ha)) of downtownDowntown Waterbury Historic District
The Downtown Waterbury Historic District is the core of the city of Waterbury, Connecticut, United States. It is a roughly rectangular area centered around West Main Street and Waterbury Green, the remnant of the original town commons, which has been called "one of the most attractive downtown...
Waterbury west of Waterbury Green. The city, at the height of the industrial prosperity its brassmakers had led, was easily able to rebuild. Eminent citizens of the city had also seen in the process the opportunity to rethink and reshape the city's downtown
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
, as their counterparts had done six decades earlier when they had created the Green out of a swampy remnant of the original town common.
The first part of the process was the construction of a new train station, for which the streets and blocks near it were cleared and realigned to allow the creation of a small park. Architects McKim, Mead and White gave the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , was a railroad that operated in the northeast United States from 1872 to 1968 which served the states of Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts...
a significant Second Renaissance Revival
Second Renaissance Revival architecture
Second Renaissance Revival architecture is a category of architecture used in classifying buildings listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It has been applied by the National Register for hundreds of places.-See also:...
building, capped by a 240 feet (73.2 m) clock tower
Clock tower
A clock tower is a tower specifically built with one or more clock faces. Clock towers can be either freestanding or part of a church or municipal building such as a town hall. Some clock towers are not true clock towers having had their clock faces added to an already existing building...
based on the Torre del Mangia
Torre del Mangia
The Torre del Mangia is a tower in Siena, in the Tuscany region of Italy. Built in 1338-1348, it is located in the Piazza del Campo, Siena's premier square, adjacent to the Palazzo Pubblico . When built it was one of the tallest secular towers in mediaeval Italy...
that has since become a symbol of the city. After three years of construction, it was completed and opened in 1909.
Henry and Frederick Chase, brothers who owned the eponymous brass company, not only the largest in the city but the country, along with the world's largest clock factory, saw how the clock tower created a new focal point along Grand Street. They felt that the street should now be the main route into downtown, worthy of its name, and developed a 20-year plan to remake it. In line with the principles of the contemporary City Beautiful movement
City Beautiful movement
The City Beautiful Movement was a reform philosophy concerning North American architecture and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of using beautification and monumental grandeur in cities. The movement, which was originally associated mainly with Chicago,...
, they felt it should be the location of a "court of honor" of newer, grander city hall, and other important public and private buildings.
1912–1924: Construction
The Chases committed $100,000 of their own money ($ in contemporary dollars) to the project, primarily spent on design work while the city committed $30,000 ($ in contemporary dollars), spent on salaries. At the time the economy was still recovering from the Panic of 1907Panic of 1907
The Panic of 1907, also known as the 1907 Bankers' Panic, was a financial crisis that occurred in the United States when the New York Stock Exchange fell almost 50% from its peak the previous year. Panic occurred, as this was during a time of economic recession, and there were numerous runs on...
), so the private funding was crucial.
First, the Chases sought to renovate Library Park, on the southeast corner of Grand and Meadow. They hired Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, social critic, public administrator, and landscape designer. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture, although many scholars have bestowed that title upon Andrew Jackson Downing...
for this. In 1912 Waterbury's existing, smaller City Hall, on West Main Street opposite the Green, was burned down by an arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
ist. This provided an opportunity to move the city's government to the Grand Street blocks the Chases wanted to serve as an entry to the city. Cass Gilbert
Cass Gilbert
- Historical impact :Gilbert is considered a skyscraper pioneer; when designing the Woolworth Building he moved into unproven ground — though he certainly was aware of the ground-breaking work done by Chicago architects on skyscrapers and once discussed merging firms with the legendary Daniel...
, who had moved to Ridgefield
Ridgefield, Connecticut
Ridgefield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Situated in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains, the 300-year-old community had a population of 24,638 at the 2010 census. The town center, which was formerly a borough, is defined by the U.S...
a few years earlier, won a competition to design City Hall as the first of a complex of buildings that would highlight the public and private heights of the city. He may have been the favorite because the members of the city's building commission had apparently been impressed by his Ives Memorial Library, the main building of the New Haven
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
Free Public Library
New Haven Free Public Library
The New Haven Free Public Library is the public library system serving New Haven, Connecticut.The system began in 1887 in a leased location but quickly outgrew its space. The Ives Memorial Library is the main branch of the system and is located on the New Haven Green. The neo-Georgian building...
.
It is not certain whether Gilbert was the Chases' first choice for the project. The three did establish a productive relationship, and Gilbert quickly laid out a park for the small block opposite the train station and designed a fountain for it as well. Construction began on City Hall in 1912, shortly after the old building had burned, when the Grand Street site narrowly won in a referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
. Three years later it was opened, in a dedication ceremony presided over by Governor Marcus H. Holcomb
Marcus H. Holcomb
Marcus H. Holcomb was an American politician and the 51st Governor of Connecticut.- Early life :Holcomb was born in New Hartford, Connecticut on November 28, 1844. He studied at public school system New Hartford. He then studied at Wesleyan Seminary in Massachusetts. Later he also studied law.-...
. In 1917, the entourage that Gilbert had envisioned as ceremonial space was the gathering place for men signing up for the draft
Selective Service Act of 1917
The Selective Service Act or Selective Draft Act was passed by the Congress of the United States on May 18, 1917. It was envisioned in December 1916 and brought to President Woodrow Wilson's attention shortly after the break in relations with Germany in February 1917...
upon U.S. entry into World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Two years later it served as the reviewing stand for the parade held when troops returned.
The privations caused by the Panic of 1907 had made clear the city's need for a single facility from which all its charities could operate. After studying such facilities in other Northeastern cities, the Associated Charities made recommendations to Gilbert in 1915. His design for Lincoln House was the only one significantly altered prior to construction. The original design called for a full frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
, wooden dentilled cornice and balustrade of brick and wood around the rooftop. Lincoln House was finished in 1916. Since most medical supplies at that time were geared to war production needs, it remained largely unoccupied until 1917. In 1921 Associated Charities, as much to avoid the stigma of its name that discouraged those it was meant to serve from seeking help from it as to reflect that it had become known by the name of the building, changed its name to the Lincoln House Association.
During that time the Chases were occupied with seeing through the construction of their new corporate headquarters. The existing buildings were acquired and demolished. After Henry Chase died in 1918, his brother Frederick assumed his responsibilities. He continued the good relationship with Gilbert Henry had had.
In the last years of his life, Henry Chase had begun acquiring the land for the bank building. Gilbert was asked to draw up plans, and delivered them in late 1919. Construction began a few months later, and was completed in 1922.
The last building to be added was the dispensary. It had always been planned—Gilbert was instructed to design it in 1916—but the shortage of materials caused by the war resulted in its construction being put off. In 1923 the Chase family created a permanent endowment fund for it. Construction began in 1923 and the building was in use within the year.
1925–present:Use, decline and preservation
Gilbert had hoped to add a sixth building, a theater, using land owned by the Chases to the east of the bank building and the Power House to the rear of the bank, a ca. 1900 structure the family also had bought to make the complex viable. He drew up plans for it in 1919, but after the completion of the dispensary other projects, such as the Supreme Court buildingUnited States Supreme Court building
The Supreme Court Building is the seat of the Supreme Court of the United States. It is situated in Washington, D.C. at 1 First Street, NE, on the block immediately east of the United States Capitol. The building is under the jurisdiction of the Architect of the Capitol. On May 4, 1987, the Supreme...
in Washington, drew his attention and he was unable to return to Waterbury before he died in 1934. The land was eventually sold to the federal government in the late 1930s for the city's new post office.
In 1930 the city's Chamber of Commerce
Chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
moved into the Power House from Lincoln House. The charities and dispensary were very busy places at that time with the onset of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
and his wife Eleanor
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
visited City Hall in 1936 on their way to a rally in Library Park.
World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
affected the buildings as well. Scrap metal was piled up on the entourage in front of City Hall, and the tower was surrounded with scaffolding
Scaffolding
Scaffolding is a temporary structure used to support people and material in the construction or repair of buildings and other large structures. It is usually a modular system of metal pipes or tubes, although it can be from other materials...
so that air wardens could keep watch from it. The Power House's door was sandbagged. Parades on V-E and V-J days were held down Grand Street with the reviewing section in front City Hall, as parades still are on civic holidays like Independence
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
and Memorial days.
After the war, there were other changes. The Lincoln House Association changed its name again, to the Family Service Association (It is now Family Services of Greater Waterbury). Other tenants of the space in those years included the city's Adult Probation Department, Legal Aid
Legal Aid Society
The Legal Aid Society in New York City is the United States' oldest and largest provider of legal services to the indigent. It operates both traditional civil and criminal law cases.-History:...
, and the local Chamber of Commerce
Chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
, which was headquartered in the Power House next door. That building was also renovated, sometime before 1950, with the addition of a second story and a paint job, bringing the brick closer to the bank building's limestone and better concealing the divide between the new and old brickwork.
The Chase companies, by then Chase Brass & Copper, continued to use the headquarters building until the early 1960s. In 1963 ten residents interested in preserving
Historic preservation
Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...
the building bought it from the company. After three years, they in turn sold it to the city. It has been used as supplemental municipal office space ever since.
In the late 20th century, other organizations that had been housed in the buildings also left them. The Chamber of Commerce left the Power House in 1960. In 1974, the Family Service Association, in need of space more suited to its needs, left Lincoln House after half a century for new quarters on Murray Street. The dispensary left as well that year. Lincoln House passed through several owners, its future uncertain for a while, until it was rehabilitated into law offices by one. The dispensary is now home to the Connecticut Community Foundation.
By the early 21st century, most city government functions, including the mayor's office and council meetings, had been moved across the street to the Chase Building. City Hall itself had fallen into serious decline. Inspections found water leaking through the ceiling and into the walls and roof, rusting the structural steel and loosening stones on the face. Vandals opened a fire hose in 2005, flooding the entire building. More flooding damaged the building when copper piping was stolen. The Fire Department eventually ordered all government bodies out of the building save the City Clerk's office, which could not function without access to the records vault.
In 2006 the City Council approved a $48 million bond issue to repair and restore
Building restoration
Building restoration describes a particular treatment approach and philosophy within the field of architectural conservation. According the U.S...
the building. Aldermen from the Independent Party who believed the public should decide on a spending program that large succeeded in getting the issue put to a referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
in 2007, which defeated it. After council trimmed the proposal to $36 million, the Independent aldermen agreed not to seek another referendum, and it was adopted. The building was reopened in 2011.